University of Delaware Football Opens 2014 Preseason Camp, First Scrimmage Set for Saturday

NEWARK, Del. -- Beautiful sunny skies greeted the University of Delaware football squad as the Blue Hens took part in the first day of preseason practice Monday afternoon at the Delaware Practice Fields.

Delaware’s 95-man roster went through multiple drills, position-by-position skill sessions, seven-on-seven drills, and plays from scrimmage as part of the two-hour plus session held under temperatures in the low-80s.

Blue Hen head coach Dave Brock, who will begin his second season at the Delaware helm this fall, was happy to finally get preseason drills underway and pleased with the team’s reaction to the first day of practice.

“It’s great to have the players back and on the practice field,” said Brock, who led his first Delaware team to a 7-5 record last fall. “Our energy was good today and it was great to see a lot of guys running around and the younger guys flying around. It’s nice to see the guys who you would expect to stand out really stand out. MJ (senior wideout Michael Johnson) had an outstanding practice as you might he imagine he would and (quarterback) Trent Hurley was phenomenal in his first day back. And we have brought in some talented kids. We will go back, watch the tape, and have a better feel for it. It’s going to be a physical camp and we will practice a lot of situational football.”

Hurley, a senior who led the Colonial Athletic Association in passing efficiency a year ago and will become the first Blue Hen to start three straight years at quarterback since Matt Nagy in 1998-2000, had several big throws during the scrimmage section of practice Monday, hitting Johnson on a 70-yard bomb for a touchdown down the right sideline and just a few snaps later finding senior wide receiver Stephen Clark on another long gain.

Delaware will continue single practices on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday beginning at 3 p.m. and will close out the week with the first scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 9, at 3:30 p.m. at Delaware Stadium. Delaware’s annual Media/Photo Day is set for Sunday, Aug. 10, at 3:30 p.m. All Delaware practices as well as the scrimmage and Media Day are open to the public.